PREPS PLUS. BASEBALL ROUNDUP.

Righty rights self as Marian sweeps

May 06, 2001|By Mike Pankow.

Dan Gaz is a notorious slow starter. However, the Marian Catholic senior right-hander proved to be a terrific finisher Saturday.

After giving up four runs on five hits in the first inning, Gaz settled down and allowed the Spartans to rally for a 5-4 nine-inning victory in the second game of an East Suburban Catholic doubleheader against Notre Dame.

"Dan started without any location," Marian Catholic coach Mike Pohlman said. "He has a history of problems in the first inning. Once he got out of the first inning, he started hitting spots and shut them out the rest of the way."

Gaz gave up nine hits, struck out eight and walked one while improving to 4-2.

Sergio Flores' double in the top of the ninth scored Don Busse to put Marian (14-9, 5-5) ahead by a run. Then Gaz retired the side in order to close out the victory.

Marian came back from a 4-0 deficit by scoring two runs in the second and two in the fifth. Mike Gavin's single scored Flores to tie the game.

In the opener, the Spartans also had to rally for a victory. Notre Dame jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the second before Marian claimed a 7-6 victory. Rick Romeli had a two-run single and earned the victory.

-- Mike Pankow

St. Charles East 7-6, Streamwood 0-1: Adam Knobel threw a three-hitter in the first game as the No. 2 Saints (22-4, 20-3) cruised. In the nightcap, Chris Thedorf doubled and homered as St. Charles completed the Upstate Eight sweep.

St. Rita 3, Gordon Tech 2: Mark Gonciarczyk struck out 13 and Mike Boyd and John McCarthy each scored runs for the No. 4 Mustangs (23-2, 13-1) in the Catholic League.

Homewood-Flossmoor 3, Tinley Park 1: Brett Kingdom tossed a four-hitter to lead the No. 5 Vikings (21-2). Gary Giles added two hits and an RBI for the winners.

Joliet Catholic 3-11, Holy Cross 2-7: In an East Suburban Catholic doubleheader, Jake Trader went 3-for-3 and Larry Wallen scattered six hits as the No. 10 Hilltoppers (20-8, 10-4) won Game 1. In Game 2, Chris Williams went 4-for-6 with four RBIs to lead Joliet Catholic.

Herscher triangular: Herscher ran its record to 31-1 after a 3-0 victory over Bishop McNamara and a 4-2 triumph over Coal City. Against McNamara, Ben Stephens tossed a three-hitter with five strikeouts. Josh Osenga went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for Herscher against Coal City. . . . Coal City (29-2) bounced back with a 9-2 victory over Bishop McNamara.

Highland Park 8, Glenbrook South 2: Jared Neumark and Dan Lotzof each went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Giants (21-4, 10-1) in the Central Suburban North.

Hinsdale South 19-10, Proviso West 6-6: Sam Louise went 3-for-3 with three runs for the Hornets in the opener. Mike Dow was 4-for-4 with two RBIs in the nightcap as Hinsdale South finished the sweep.

Lyons Township 11-10, Proviso East 1-5: Grant Johnson threw a one-hitter with nine strikeouts for Lyons (19-10, 10-5) in the opener. Chris Richards had a three-run homer for the Lions in Game 2 in the West Suburban crossover.

Maine South 11, Niles North 1: Dan Karnatz had a three-run triple and Josh Gelula pitched a four-hitter for the Hawks (20-3, 10-1) in the Central Suburban South.

Marist 6-6, St. Viator 2-2: Ryan Denton and Dennis Payonk went 2-for-3 with two runs scored as the Redhawks (17-6, 8-2) won the opener. Brett Cox had two hits and scored two runs in Game 2 as Marist finished the East Suburban Catholic sweep.

Mt. Carmel 17, Leo 5: Cesar Carrillo went 3-for-3 with four runs and Mike Joyce scored three runs for the Caravan (20-8, 12-3) in the Catholic League.

Nazareth 10-11, Wheaton Academy 0-3: In the opener, Mike Ander drove in three runs and Mike Skokna threw a three-hitter to lead the Roadrunners (21-6, 11-1). Joe Kazanovski went 2-for-4 with two RBIs as Nazareth completed the Private School League sweep.

New Trier 8, Glenbrook North 4: Will Parke went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Dan Aquilino pitched a four-hitter over five innings to lead the Trevians (18-8, 11-0) in a Central Suburban crossover.

Oak Park 6-6, Morton 3-2: In the West Suburban crossover, Ian Matthews pitched a four-hitter with nine strikeouts in the opener for the Huskies (19-9, 12-4).

Shepard 8, Andrew 0: Brian Toner went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs for the Astros (14-8).

Stevenson 6-2, Mundelein 3-5: Tim Morley struck out 11 for Stevenson (21-6, 5-3) in the opener, but Steve Plucinski and Eric Sheridan each went 3-for-4 with a RBI to prevent the sweep for Mundelein (21-7, 3-5) in the North Suburban.

Warren 7-12, Antioch 0-2: Ryan Callanan homered and drove in three in the opener for the Blue Devils (19-9, 5-3). Callanan added three hits and three RBIs in Game 2 as Warren swept the North Suburban Lake doubleheader.